Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Decreased by Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,789 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,105 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,023,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $748,951,000 after acquiring an additional 116,547 shares during the period. NovaPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 30,785 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,889 shares during the period. PeakShares LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 58.2% during the 1st quarter. PeakShares LLC now owns 4,412 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.4% in the first quarter. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV now owns 6,160 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.4% in the first quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 2,998 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $464.72 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $397.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $405.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Dbs Bank cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $558.64.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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